The Super Bowl is not just a game; it’s a cultural phenomenon, an extravaganza of entertainment, and a battleground for brands vying to capture the attention of millions. But what makes advertising during the Super Bowl so special?
You are at a Super Bowl LVIII party, surrounded by friends and family, munching on snacks, high on energy… Then comes halftime. Suddenly, the room falls silent as the commercials come on. Instead of heading to the kitchen for more chips, everyone’s eyes are still glued to the screen. Why?
Because Super Bowl commercials aren’t just ads – they’re mini-masterpieces crafted to entertain, evoke emotion, and leave a lasting impression.
But what makes advertising during the Super Bowl so special?
A study conducted by the behavioural research company Veylinx investigated the impact of Super Bowl commercials on consumer demand. It revealed that Super Bowl advertising resulted in a 16.4% surge in overall product demand among viewers.
Side note: Of course, the Taylor Swift effect could be responsible for the surge in overall demand among Gen Z viewers.
CBS announced that this year’s Super Bowl telecast set a new record as the most-watched in history, with an average of over 123.4 million viewers across all platforms. The allure of Super Bowl snacks likely contributed to this achievement. It serves as justification for brands to invest the $6.5 million–$7 million required for a 30-second ad slot. So no, the brands’ Super Bowl ‘confetti’ investment is definitely not a total marketing misspend.
How do marketing leaders determine and showcase the validity of investing millions in a Super Bowl advertisement?
These coveted ad slots require months of planning and a creative team who can think outside the box. Newer brands entering the Super Bowl often depend on past metrics and success stories to guide their marketing and advertising decisions.
For instance, Duo Lingo, the language-learning app, made its Super Bowl debut by showcasing the multilingual mascot farting his own face to capture viewers’ attention.
On their blog, the team said, “While developing a marketing campaign, our teams do a lot of initial research to gather insights about what resonates with the audience. Given the amount of time on screen was so limited, we used social listening tools to figure out which Duolingo memes and images resonated most with the audience”
On the other hand, seasoned Super Bowl advertisers wrestle with the selection of products to highlight and how to be the talk of the tow- world really.
This season, marketers have heavily relied on celebrities to enhance the appeal and generate buzz for their ad commercials. While time and campaign orchestration will tell how well they fared, the increasing prevalence of celebrities during important game ads calls for better thought and creativity. The connection between the ambassador and the brand tapping into the emotional quotient of the audience is where the magic lies.
Charles R. Taylor, the Editor of the International Journal of Advertising and the past president of the American Academy of Advertising, had also predicted, “Expect heavy use of celebrities, humour and emotional appeals due to their relationship with likeability, knowing the ads that work best will differentiate the brand from competitors.”
He couldn’t have been more right.
Harris Quest, an AI-powered real-time research software suite, recently released new survey insights following Super Bowl LVIII. “It revealed that the DunKings – a comedic commercial by Dunkin’ showcasing Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady as a musical ensemble performing for Jennifer Lopez in a studio setting, emerged as the top favourite advertisement of the Big Game!
We picked our ten favourites that have two or more elements of what makes a good commercial memorable – casting, creativity, humour, and emotional appeal.
BMW
Google Pixel
Homes.com
Microsoft
Pringles
Popeyes
poppi
STōK Cold Brew Coffee
Uber
Verizon
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Zoho Corporation offers innovative and tailored software to help leaders grow their business. Zoho’s 55+ products aid sales and marketing, support and collaboration, finance, and recruitment requirements. Its customer analytics capabilities come with a conversational feature, Ask Zia. It enables users to ask questions and get insights in the form of reports and widgets in real-time.
Salesforce-owned Tableau is an AI-powered analytics and business intelligence platform, offering the breadth and depth of capabilities that serve the requirements of global enterprises in a seamless, integrated experience. Marketers can utilise generative AI models, AI-powered predictions, natural language querying, and recommendationsons.
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